Three-year push drops illiteracy from 14% to 7.5%

Santo Domingo.- When the National QuisqueyaAprende Contigo Literacy Plan (QAC) was launched on January 7, 2013, thecountry’s illiteracy rate was 14%. Three years into the program, the illiteracyrate stands at 7.5%, or a 6.5% fall.

"In 2013 provincial illiteracy rateswere higher than 11%, only the National District and Santo Domingo province had8.1% and 9.4%, respectively," said QAC director, Horacio Medrano

"Now everything has changed, thenational illiteracy rate is 7.5% and most provinces are below 11%, and theNational District and Santo Domingo province have a rate of less than 5%."

In a meeting with the heads of the Education Ministry’s.Special Programs Dept. (DIGEPEP), Medrano attributed the QAC’s results thus farto the integration and coordination of all social actors with the Government.

He revealed that 718,918 people have enrolledin the literacy plan, but have been affected by a desertion rate as high as 60%."Even with this high dropout we have been able to literate and certify377,641 people, which is equivalent to saying that illiteracy is 7.5%."

Medrano added that the challenge now is aDominican Republic free of illiteracy, with a national rate of 4.9%.